India 30 September 2016:VIHAAN 2016 is an initiative by VARIJA LIFE under Varija Bajaj and SHANKARA under Sujatha Narayannswami. India’s first Holistic festival which will focus on bringing together the diverse population, cultures and abilities together will be held on the 14th of December at IGNCA ( Indra Gandhi National Center for Arts ), supported by Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Creating awareness for youth across the country VIHAAN kicked off its Mumbai chapter with panel discussions with eminent experts at:

BD SOMANI College

Ms.Varija Bajaj:VIHAAN Festival Director

Ms.Sujatha Narayanswami:VIHAAN Convenor

Ms.Raju Bhatia-HOD Fashion Technology-BD Somani

Ms.Neenu Kewlani-Activist:Barrier Free Environment

Mr.Brian Seymour-Principal GD Somani Memorial School

Dr.Ela Dedhia-HOD Fashion Technology Nirmala Niketan

Ms.Sunita Sanchetii-Activist-Right of persons with disabilities

PEARL ACADEMY

Ms.Varija Bajaj:VIHAAN Festival Director

Ms.Sujatha Narayanswami:VIHAAN Convenor

Dr.Swaroop Rawal-Actress and Educationist

Mr.Elsie Gabriel-Founder Young Environmentalists Programme Trust

Dr.Neeti Bose:Deputy Head Academic Goernance-Pearl Academy

Ms.Vasudha Prakash-Founder Director V Excel Foundation

Ms.Raju Bhatia-HOD Fashion Technology-BD Somani

The panel focused on urging youth on enrichment and empowerment of 'Persons with Disabilities' which is one of the key elements into making a society INCLUSIVE and successful as it taps into all its potentials and brings out the best. The first step towards achieving this is AWARENESS and EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES.It emphasises on recognising abilities over disabilities of the disabled.

Under VIHAAN OORJA– Various competitions for the youth were rolled out focusing on creating awareness on the different abilities, developing aids and support systems to help the Disabled bloom and perform to the best of their capabilities. The competitions include Photography, Film-making, Share your story, Garment Designing, Footwear designing, Product design (Learning Systems,aids and appliances)

Varija Bajaj and Sujatha Narayannswami spokesperson for VIHAAN 2016 Says “We look at VIHAAN as a face of changer for Persons with Disabilities, a medium of leading a dignified life.

The other highlights for the holistic festival are

Life Animated, a Hollywood documentary on Autism by Academy Award Winning Director by Roger Ross Williams will be screened first time in India during the festival in December. Winning several awards in San Francisco International Film Festival, Sundance and Full Frame Film Festival, the film will now be a part of the biggest revolution India has ever seen for inclusion of those who fight to prove their abilities over disabilities.